In their own words, the 20SPSS "operates and maintains the only phased-array space surveillance system dedicated to detect, track, identify, and report on all near-earth and deep space objects within the radar’s coverage." That’s a mouthful. And According to Jeff Werner, Space Operations team member, it’s a busy job, and there’s a lot more too it than just sitting in front of a radar screen or walking through the halls crying "Kirk to Enterprise."

Jeff tells us that the operators serve as local command and control function for the unit, and must be trained to respond to a vast range of stimuli. And that’s where X10 comes into this space-age safari.

X10 has been integrated into the facility to simulate everything from fire alarms, duress alarms, and power and equipment failures. All done by programming an ActiveHome Macro to control the special effects. Jeff says that their favorite effect is a bomb detonation and explosion using a .wav file and flickering and dimming the lights via an ActiveHome timer module.

"The ActiveHome system has allowed us to provide full computer-based control of nearly every electrical device in the simulator," Jeff tells us.

Featured Articles - Listing of Recent Postings
August 30 - Cameras Catch the Car Vandals
July 23 - Remote-control Units Help Country's Biggest Student Film Festival
July 2 - The X10 Mechanic
April 19 - FloodCams Catch the Vandals

Customer Stories - Index